landmark

[land-mahrk]

noun

1. a prominent or conspicuous object on land that serves as a guide, especially to ships at sea or to travelers on a road; a distinguishing landscape feature marking a site or location.

   The post office served as a landmark for locating the street to turn down.

2. something used to mark the boundary of land.

3. a building or other place that is of outstanding historical, aesthetic, or cultural importance, often declared as such and given a special status landmark designation, ordaining its preservation, by some authorizing organization.

4. a significant or historic event, juncture, achievement, etc..

   The court decision stands as a landmark in constitutional law.

   Synonyms: benchmark, watershed, milestone

verb (used with object)

1. to declare (a building, site, etc.) a landmark.

   a movement to landmark New York's older theaters.

landmark

/ ˈlændˌmɑːk /

noun

1. a prominent or well-known object in or feature of a particular landscape

2. an important or unique decision, event, fact, discovery, etc

3. a boundary marker or signpost

Other Word Forms

• unlandmarked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of landmark¹

before 1000; Middle English; Old English landmearc. See land, mark ¹

Example Sentences

Wade and other landmark decisions that had guided American life for decades.

From Salon

That year, the 10 Years in Transit tour made 10 stops with Jack’s Mannequin playing its landmark debut in full for the first time.

From Los Angeles Times

No one in the press room on Sept. 30 asked about the inconsistency between boasting about a “landmark” deal protecting U.S. based pharmaceutical research and development, and cutting off funding for, well, pharmaceutical R&D.

From Los Angeles Times

Over the past few years, this conservative-dominated Supreme Court has demonstrated a willingness to issue landmark new rulings that have dramatically shifted America's legal landscape.

From BBC

It comes after she opened the party's annual conference with a pledge to scrap the UK's landmark climate laws previously championed by predecessor Theresa May.

From BBC

Related Words

• marker 
• memorial 
• milestone 
• monument 
• museum 
• tree